"Here, Master Dante, we rewrite human history," Archibald boasted, gesturing toward the central hall where a massive clockwork heart beat in the center of the floor. "The Academy is the mind, and the Under-city is but the limbs that must move as we command."
Dante walked with his hands behind his back, nodding with perfected feigning interest. His mind, however, was a tactical map, calculating the blind spots of the steam-cameras and the patrol cycles of the clockwork sentries.
"And that wing?" Dante asked casually, pointing toward a corridor guarded by soldiers with chemical rifles.
Archibald cleared his throat. "The Bio-Archive. Closed for sensitive experiments funded by Lord Van Damme. As you know, tensions are rising due to the provocations of the Luminous Family."
Dante’s mind snapped onto the name. The Luminous Family—the eternal rivals to Van Damme, the other pole of power in the Heights.
"The Luminous? I thought they only cared about the airship trade," Dante remarked with artificial curiosity.
Archibald laughed. "They want more. They are funding insurgencies in the Depths to distract Van Damme while they attempt to steal our engine prototypes. The war below, my boy, is but a reflection of the masters' struggle up here."
Taking advantage of Archibald’s brief distraction, Dante slipped away with the stealth of a raven. He didn't need doors; he navigated the copper ventilation shafts he had memorized from stolen blueprints. Minutes later, he was inside the Secret Records Vault.
He inserted a "technical needle" into the central data port. Names began to scroll across the green screen.
Engineer Inventory (Status: Recovered from the Under-city):
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Silas – High-pressure engineering (Location: Lab 09).
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Elias – Volatile chemistry (Location: Van Damme Private Facility).
"Recovered?" Dante whispered with disgust. "Abducted is the word."
He dug deeper until he found a document bearing the seals of both Van Damme and Luminous, framed within a military context.
Plan: Resource Depletion of the Slums.
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Van Damme supplies the "Owl Gang" with armor-piercing gear.
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Luminous supplies the "Raven Gang" with incendiary explosives.
The coming war was no accident. It was a "culling." The nobles wanted the poor to slaughter each other using weapons designed by their own kidnapped engineers. Once the slums were empty, the Heights would claim the land for industrial expansion.
A faint click sounded behind him. Not the heavy tread of a guard, but the sound of a weapon being primed.
"Do you really think you're the only one with the keys to this place, Dante?"
The voice was sharp and painfully familiar. Dante turned slowly to find Eva, the detective, standing in the shadows. Her steam-pistol was leveled at his chest.
Dante didn't flinch. A smirk played on his lips. "Eva... the perfect detective in the wrong place. As expected."
Eva’s hand trembled slightly. "Dante Lucile... the son of the golden elite is the thief who haunted my nights? I’ve been tracking Van Damme for weeks, expecting a Luminous spy. I never imagined I'd find you stealing Academy records."
"Oh, madam," Dante stepped toward her, ignoring the weapon. "I do this for you first and foremost. After all, your roots are in the Depths, aren't they? If not for my father’s influence pulling you from the filth of the 'Lock,' you wouldn't be standing here in that fancy uniform."
Eva’s face flushed with rage, but Dante pointed at the screen. "Look at what your masters are planning, Eva. I am trying to help your people. Look!"
Eva glanced at the data. Her face went pale as she read the words Systemic Eradication. "This... the High Council would never allow this."
"The High Council is holding the match, Eva," Dante said coldly.
Eva narrowed her eyes, keeping her gun steady. "That explains why you are here now, but what about the previous thefts? Why rob noble houses for mere jewelry and trinkets? Is cleaning out the safes of the rich part of your 'rescue plan' too?"
Dante didn't blink. "Searching for the truth requires a cover, Detective. If I had raided the Academy first, I’d be dead in two days. I had to appear as a common thief, chasing gold and trivialities, to drown out the sound of my true footsteps. The jewelry was just noise to hide the signal."
Silence stretched between them. The conflict was no longer between a cop and a thief, but between a hideous truth and a blind loyalty.
"Now," Dante said, extending his hand slowly. "Will you arrest the thief trying to stop the furnace, or will you help him burn the forest before the fire reaches us all?"